Made-in-Studio: Bookmaking

Class Description

Saturday, April 11, 1-4pm Handmade books come in an exciting variety of colors, shapes and sizes. How they handle, what secrets they openly share or hide, what papers are used, all add to their unique character and style. Useful as journals, art platforms, keepsakes or a home for your very own stories. In this introductory book making class, we’ll make 3 different books to form an understanding of how some books are sewn (Pamphlet stitch book), glued (Lotus Book) and folded together (Concertina or Flag Book). On our journey, we’ll see how paper and its grain impact our books, and what tools we need. Marieke is a lifelong artist, educator and maker that works at the intersection of Nature, Design, Engineering and Play. Constantly problem solving, tinkering and imagining, she lives with her family on their tree farm in the Montgomery County Ag reserve, where they endeavor to make space for breath, and native plants & animals. With an educational background in photography, digital art, engineering and social studies, Marieke has taught animation at MC and web design at VisArts & FCC. At FCC she also taught graphic design and helped establish a Makerspace prior to the pandemic. More recently Marieke has been introducing homeschool students to the possibilities of digital art, the tactile nature of fiber art, and the wonders of our local ecology. In her own exploration she’s had the opportunity to study the arts of book & paper making at workshops at Pyramid Atlantic, and Penland. Deeping her play with 2D to 3D transformations, she had the privilege of learning about tin sculptures with artist Bobby Hansson. Marieke's relationship with fiber arts has been more close to home, where her mother taught her the basics of crochet and sewing. "General Doll Hospital" was established early on, and probably involved as much drama as the daytime soap it was named after. Living in West Africa for a time opened up her color and textile language, and impressed on her the magic of re-use. She has had the opportunity to watch Ghanaian weavers and batiks being made in the Ivory Coast. Now she explores the growing world of Japanese amigurumi and transforms fabric scraps into creatures.